that's it for us. "early start" begins now. well, you know, it's not elegantly stated. let me put it that way. i'm speakinging off the cuff in response to a question. >> mitt romney off message and on the defense after a hidden video of him is released. >> a developing story we're watching this morning, a severe storm threat stretching from the carolinas all the way to new england. >> and this just in, prince william fighting the paparazzi

to make sure what happened to his mother does not happen to his wife. and it looks like he has won round one. good morning to you and welcome to "early start." we're happy you're with us, i'm zoraida sambolin good i'm john berman. 5:00 a.m. in the east. we begin with politics in what appears to be a major campaign moment. while you were sleeping, mitt romney doing full-fledged damage control over controversial remarks that were secretly recorded at a private fund-raiser back in may. romney is held telling wealthy donors that 47% of americans will support the president no matter what and it's not his job to worry about them. this tape has shaken the ropleny campaign and cnn's andrew spencer has more. >> reporter: in one clip, mitt romney jokes about wishing his father's parents were latino. >> had i been born of mexican parents i would have a better shot at winning this.

>> reporter: he goes off on obama's supporters. >> 47% were with him, who are depend enupon government who believe they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them. >> reporter: the obama campaign issued a response, saying of a romney presidency, quote, it's hard to serve as president for all americans when you've disdainfully written off half the nation. in a news conference monday night romney said he could have spoken more clearly but said he was trying to to point out the differences between the two campaigns. >> we have a very different approach. this is really a discussion about the political process of winning the election. and, of course, i want to help all americans. all americans have a bright and prosperous future. i'm convinced that the president's approach has not done that and will not do that. >> reporter: i'm andrew spencer reporting.

>> i want to bring in cnn political director mark preston in our washington bureau. you heard mitt romney talk about the 47% of people that he says don't pay federal income taxes. it's not the number, though, that might be the most controversial thing. it's what he says about these people. let's take a listen. >> my job is not to worry about those people. i'll never convince them they should take responsibility to care for their lives. >> he can never convince them to take personal responsibility and care for their own lives. what's the potential damage with a comment like that? >> certainly in the 24-hour news sike it'll is devastating right now. we know how concerned the romney campaign is by putting their candidate out last night to try to address it. it was a tortured explanation. in addition to that, john, we're going to have republicans now throughout the day today being asked do you agree with what mitt romney said? this is not something the romney campaign wants to have to deal with with only 49 days before

election day but, john, we don't know if it's a fatal blow. there are 49 days still remaining. we'll have to see how this plays out. >> you heard an interesting word formulation there where he said it's not his job to worry about these people. that sounds awfully familiar to us at cnn. listen to what mitt romney sold soledad o'brien some time ago. >> i'm not concerned about the very poor, we have a safety net there. if it needs repair, i'll fix it. i said i'm not concerned about the very poor. you can focus on the very poor. my focus is on middle income americans. >> now, his comments to soledad were back in february. from february to may, his choice of language doesn't really seem to have changed very much. is this of concern to conservatives and republicans who support mitt romney? >> well, what we're hearing there is we're hearing ceo speak, john, at that time. we're hearing a businessman talk about how he is methodically or mechanically going to try to fix the country. if there are people who get

pushed aside, so be it. i have to tell you, though, for republicans who want to win the white house, this is not the language they want to hear, certainly at a time when there are questions about whether the romney campaign is in a bit of a crisis mode and leadership vacuum. it's no the what theyen wa the to hear right now. >> no, especially not the ceo speak. especially when 37% of voters in recent polling say they think mitt romney is in focus with the problems faced by the middle class. >> he is their candidate for president. in fact, reince priebus was on "the situation room" last night. let's hear what he had to say. >> i don't have the numbers in front of me. but clearly what we do have, very clearly, is a government and a society here in this country that is becoming dependent. this is something advertised by barack obama himself on his own website when they came out with

this life of julia push over the summer. it is a choice election between what type of country you want to have and i can guarantee you the american dream was not built upon the life of julius society advertised by barack obama. >> right there is the chairman of the republican national committee defending mitt romney and his language. certainly trying to frame this election between somebody who can turn the country around, mitt romney as opposed to what they say barack obama has failed in doing so. john? >> we're excepting more excerpts to come out at 6:00 a.m. max preften in our washington bureau. thanks very much. at the got o the hour we talk to cnn contributor margaret hoover who worked in the bush white house and richard socarides. at 7:00 a.m., soledad

o'brien will be talking with bay buchanan to get her talk on all of this. this just in, french prosecutors deciding to open a preliminary criminal investigation into the publication of topless photos of the duchess of cam braj. lawyers for the royal couple are also trying to get the french courts to issue an injunction forbidding further publication or resale of photos of the duchess on bathing topless in the south of france. a decision on that request is respected within the hour. it is six minutes past the hour. a quick check of what else is going on around the world this morning. at least nine people have been killed in a predawn car bombing in kabul, afghanistan. a spokesman for an insurgent group with ties to the taliban is taking responsibility here and says it is in response to an anti-islam film that has angered muslims around the world. that car bomber reportedly rammed a small sedan into a mini bus believed to be carrying

foreign aviation workers to the airport. 350,000 kids in chicago will get another day off from school, this, as striking teachers continue to look at a deal that's on the table to end their walkout. meanwhile, parents are scrambling to juggle work and keeping their kids out of trouble for the seventh day in a row. right now in mexico, more than 130 inmates are on the run. police are blocking roads leading to the united states after a major prison break. they're offering a $15,000 reward as well for the fugitives who escaped from a prison about 150 miles from san antonio. police say they were able to burrow through a tunnel. atlanta, nashville, new york city and the possibility of tornadoes. we'll get right to meteorologist rob marciano in atlanta. how are things looking this

morning? >> wet to start and stormy to finish is the way you implied it as well. tennessee yesterday over 6 inches of rainfall, knoxville seeing 3 inches. that's a record. in places in arkansas they needed the rain. there were areas in alabama that saw swift water rescues taking place because of the flooding. heavy rain from pittsburgh through charleston. this is shifting towards the east. it will get towards the i-95 corridor from d.c. to baltimore, starting to slide into philadelphia right now in through new york city. even coastal flooding possible with winds as we get later on into the day. here comes the heavy rain. the forecast the next 24 hours peppers this area with brighter colors. when we get into the yellows and reds, that mean 2z to 4 inches of rainfall expected. thunderstorms that could be severe, some of which had dropped damaging winds potentially and maybe an isolated tornado from boston back through raleigh and norfolk, d.c., baltimore and new york city. timing with that will be later on today as this strong front, fall front, comes through,

squeezes that tropical moisture. we get a little bit of pop with thundershowers. behind it, cooler and much drier, maybe even a couple of flurries by the canadian border. john, back to you. nine minutes past the hour. anticipation at buckingham palace this morning. the royal family waiting to hear if they won round. we go live to the soloman islands where the prince and the duchess will hear the news, coming up. dermatologist recommendeduncer] aveeno has an oat formula, now proven to build a moisture reserve, so skin can replenish itself. that's healthy skin for life. only from aveeno. your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes.

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forbidding further publication or the resale of those pictures. max foster is traveling with the duke and duchess as they celebrate the queen's diamond jubilee. he joins us from the solomon islands. what can you tell us about this criminal investigation they are opening? it seems look a win for them. >> reporter: well, yes, definitely first round, to the duchess of cambridge i'd say. there is caution here. she made a complaint and william made a complaint and the prosecutors are saying they are going to look into it. it's not a full investigation just yet. what they are going to be investigating is a breach of privacy, a criminal act in france. and potentially the editor could face a fine or even jail time. the photographer could face the same. but they don't know who the photographer is. the debate about the photograph photographer's identity is something the palace is pursuing. the magazine is the only place you can find out the name of the

photographer. and they and the french lawyer have to approve this is in the public into reveal journalistic sources. that's another hurdle to come along. we don't know whether we'll get the identity of the photographer. certainly the photographer and editor on that magazine up against it right now. >> now, you have mentioned before that france has some of the strictest -- the world's strictest privacy laws. how do you expect this ruling to go? >> reporter: well, the palace are confident. that's why they launched this action. there are very tough laws there. the french minister told cnn earlier on that he's on the duchess' side. there has to be some privacy in everyone's lives. the prosecutor's office says this has nothing to do with them being in royal family. everyone has the right to make these complaints and they'll investigate them. it certainly seems as though it's starting to -- the ball is rolling. i'm not a legal expert.

i can't say whether or not it will succeed. duchess is doing well so far. >> max foster, i know you are following the latest developments for us. we'll continue to check in with you. thank you very much. it's about a quarter after the hour right now. a lot of news overnight, christine romans is here with the headlines. thanks, john and zoraida. mitt romney has some explaining to do this morning after he was caught making blunt comments about voters in may. he says half of all american will vote for president obama anyway because they rely on government support. it's not his job to worry about them. romney tried to clarify the remarks later saying they were off the cuff and not elegantly stated. he says he wants to help all americans. the decision coming after four american troops were killed by afghan police. there have been a series of insider attacks on nato forces by afghan police and insurgents

disguised as security officers. 51 western troops have died in those attacks so far this year. nearly 200 people were arrested during protests in new york city to mark the one-year anniversary of occupy wall street. most of the arrests were for disorderly conduct. hundreds of protesters gathered at zuccotti park. peyton manning continuing his comeback on "monday night football." it was not his night. he threw three interceptions in the first quarter, putting the broncos in a 20-0 hole early. the atlanta falcons beat denver 27-21, the final, guys. >> yikes, three picks in the first quarter. thanks, christine. not nice. it is 17 minutes past the hour. olympic gold medalist shaun white has a new photo this morning.

the tennesseean provides us with a picture of it. he was arrested and charged with public intoxication and vandalism after allegedly pulling a fire alarm and destroying a telephone. this was at a tennessee hotel. when police arrived they say white tried to flee, kicking the man trying to restrain him, shortly before he fell into a fence and hit his head. he was treated at a hospital, eventually released from police custody. police also say they smelled alcohol. >> not a flattering shot, most mug shots not too flattering. >> not at puall. we have news from "the las vegas sun." when they came out to clean out walter's house in carson city they found a $7 million surprise. gold bars, gold coins, stored in boxes in the house and garage. some dating as far back as 1872. >> imagine that. >> officials say he was a reclu recluse, had no will, no close relatives. they tracked down the luckiest

first cousin in history in california. she says she was surprised by the -- >> surprised? oh, my goodness. can you imagine finding that. >> i'd take that surprise. >> 18 minutes past the hour for for an expanded look at our top stories head to cnn.com/earlystart. mitt romney talking about the 47% who will vote for president obama next month. people he says who rely on government handouts. we'll fact check governor romney's math, coming up. long full-size pickups on the road. so, what do you think? [ engine revs ] i'll take it. [ male announcer ] it's chevy truck month. now during chevy truck month, get 0% apr financing for 60 months or trade up to get the 2012 chevy silverado all-star edition with a total value of $8,000. hurry in before they're all gone!

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christine romans hand been fact checking some of the statements made by mitt romney in.video overnight. >> let's listen first to exactly what he said. so many of you are talking about this this morning. i'm going to tell you exactly what numbers we think mitt romney is talking about and i'll give you the true numbers for how many people are paying taxes and uses government services in america. listen to his comment first. >> 47% are with him, who believe they are victims, believe the government has responsibility to care for them, who believe they're entitled to health care, food, housing. >> i can't speak to how people feel or what they believe in that 47%. but i can tell you what the numbers are. it's 46% of people in this country pay no federal income tax. 46%.

this is for the year 011 according to the tax policy center. 53% of people pay income tax. this on its surface is a number that fires up conservatives who say, look, half of america is not paying federal income tax. when you figure in payroll taxes, that nonpayor group goes down to 18% of households do not pay taxes. so who are these people who are not paying? they are mostly elderly, very poor, people with churn in the family. elderly is the biggest group. and quite frankly, most of these people are paying payroll taxes anyway. there's a sliver there, 2% who have other tax reductions and like. the tax code is designed to help people who are elderly, people who are poor, people who have children. we have tax breaks for everything. going to college, buying a home. in the end all of those tax

breaks voted on by congress, not a president but by congress mean that 46.4% of people don't pay federal income taxes. >> there are two things to point out, that group, 46% or 47%, absolutely includes voters that mitt romney needs to win this election. >> he says they feel they are victims. they believe government has the responsibility to care for them. and you will hear progressive say government does have a chanceability to take care of churn w children who would die in poverty if it weren't for the government. people on medicare, medicare. there are a lot of people in that 46%, mr. romney, not 47, who would say i don't feel like a victim at all. >> including white, elderly, working class voters. people he needs to win. >> who are on social security. >> it plays conservatives who have this ann rand view of the world.

it does play with that crowd. >> thanks very much. >> you're welcome. 25 minutes past the hour. mitt romney's running mate stepping up reminding voters that president obama's had his own off the cuff moment as well. find out what the congressman said, coming up. if you're leaving the house right now, watch us anytime on your desktop, mobile phone, go to cnn.com/tv. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air.

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no apologies from mitt romney for off the cuff comments caught on shid hidden video abo people who rely on government

handouts. a cruise ship passenger falls from the deck and disappears. it was a murder case that riveted the world. amanda knox. the man with amanda that night is telling all. he's written a book. welcome back to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john berman. it's about 29 minutes after the hour. glad you're with us this morning. this morning, voters are getting a rare glimpse at what mitt romney is sort of like when he doesn't know that the camera is rolling. the keane was caught on tape at a fund-raiser providing a controversial description of obama voters. the left wing "mother jones" got ahold of the tape. >> there are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe they are vicks, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe they're entitled to health care, food, housing, you name it. it's an entitlement.

that the government should give it to them and they will vote for this no matter what. these are people who pay no income tax. >> the obama team jumped all over these comments. mitt romney himself held a late-night news conference to defend himself. >> among those who pay no tax, 47% of americans, i'm not likely to be successful with a message of lowering taxes. and likewise, those who are relien the on government are not as attracted to my message of slimming down the size of government. >> there is a lot to talk about with this this morning. we're join by margaret hoover, a former appointee in the bush white house and richard socarides. >> you heard these comments overnight. what feelings did they give you? >> look, mitt romney clearly misspoke here. the first thing i thought, 47% of americans -- i don't need to

worry about, obviously that's not true. if you're trying to run for president, you need the 47%. you want as many as possible. my sense is, i've been in places where mitt romney has been briefed on something and gone out and talked about it when he wasn't as verse on the subject matter before he talked about it. my sense here is what happened he got an economic briefing, part of his economic policy plan, of course, is to broaden the base, lower the rates so that more people start paying taxes because it's true, you have 46.7% of americans who pay zero for example income taxes. my sense is he took that tidbit and conflated it with his campaign strategy which has turned into a play to the base strategy, where republicans with going after republicans and democrats aare going after democrats and everybody else is fighting over this 4%, 5% in the middle. those are the details he was talking about in that clip. >> two things. hard to say he misspoke when he said the same thing to soledad in february.

>> he said something different to soledad. >> the issue being that he said he wasn't going to worry about them. richard, what do you make of it. >> you almost don't have to say anything. just say let's hear more of the tape. i worked on presidential campaigns, both win and losing. the last thing you want to do is insult anybody. you want to fight for every vote. the big problem for governor romney is this whole episode reinforces beliefs that are starting to set in about him at a crucial point in campaign, that is that he's not ready to be president. that he says these inappropriate things like he did at the olympics, that he lets people like clint eastwood get in there and give this kind of crazy speech at the moment where everybody's forming important opinions about him. he's not ready for prime time. that's the big problem. >> in light of that comment, let's play some more. he made a comment about mexicans. that i'd like to play and get your take on it.

>> my dad saab as you probably know, was the governor of michigan, was the head of a car company. but he was born in mexico. and had he been born of mexican parents i'd have a better shot at winning this. i say that jokingly. but it would be helpful. >> he says it jokingly, right? the perception that that leaves, how does that play out? are you concerned about that? >> i'm actually really concerned about the latino vote, frankly. you know what would be great if he spoke a little bit of spanish and was going to the latino communities talking about how unemployment is 2 points higher in the hispanic community under president obama. >> he seems so out of touch when he makes comments like that. it makes you seem like you're totally out of touch with him.

>> what he needs to do, i this i had, is going to the hispanic commune like he's going to the chamber of commerce and mac a case that his policies will be better for hispanics. >> i'd say you have to good out to latino commune and apologize. of all the stuff he said, this to me is the most offensive. first of all, here's a guy that's worth hundreds of millions of dollars complaining that because he's not of a racial or ethnic minority in this country that he's somehow been treated unfairly. this reinforces the stereotype that a lot of people have that somehow we're giving an unfair advantage to people who are from communities of color. here's a guy who's had all the advantages in the world. >> interesting point. >> hundreds of millions of dollars. what was he thinking to show incredible lack of judgment to do this in front of -- it looks like there are several dozen people in this room. what is this guy thinking? he's run are for president of the united states. >> the good news, it will give

us a lot to talk about. margaret hoover, mr. socarides. he'll be join by bay buchanan. >> i think margaret would like to speak on his behalf. can i speak up? 35 minutes past the hour. >> we'll be nice to margaret. >> all right. on a day when mitt romney's private encommittees went public, paul ryan was bringing up a private comment made four years ago by another controversial candidate that stirred up controversy as well. that candidate as barack obama. watch romney -- paul ryan refresh the memories. >> people like us, people from the midwest like to cling to their guns and religion. i have to tell you, this catholic deer hunter is guilty as charge and proud to say so.

>> ryan told the crowd in des moines the country will face an economic calamity if president obama is re-elected. convicted child rapist and former penn state football coach will know his fate on october 9th. he will determine whether sandusky should be classified as a sexually violent predator. the coast guard is searching off the coast of florida after a 21-year-old woman went overboard during a cruise headed for the bahamas. the captain immediately stopped the ship and turned around to search for her. two other nearby cruise ships joined in on the search before the coast guard crews took over. defense secretary leon panetta is in beijing this morning for his first visit to china. this follows a visit to japan where he announced the u.s. is setting up a second missile defense radar system in that country. panetta stressing the decision

is not aimed at china but to defend against missiles in the event are the of an attack from north korea. analysts say it could complicate this trip. they don't see eye to eye on how to pull the troops out of afghanistan. we go in depth in our issues 2012. that is coming up. s. but how am i going to fund it? and i have to find a way to manage my cash flow better. [ female announcer ] our wells fargo bankers are here to listen, offer guidance and provide you with options tailored to your business. we've loaned more money to small businesses than any other bank for ten years running. so come talk to us to see how we can help. wells fargo. together we'll go far.

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welcome back, everyone. all this week cnn is going in depth on issues that are vital to you, the voter. with seven weeks to go until election day, foreign policy is suddenly front and center in the race for the white house. this morning, the focus is on afghanistan. as pentagon correspondent chris lawrence tell us mitt romney and president obama may finally be seeing eye to eye on something. >> reporter: 70,000 american troops are still fighting in afghanistan.

but will election day affect them one way or the other? we see two candidates moving closer and closer to the point where there's not much space between them. >> our goal should be to complete a successful transition to afghan security forces by the end of 2014. >> next year afghans will take the lead for their own security. in 2014, the transition will be complete. >> reporter: there were real differences at the beginning of governor romney's campaign last summer when he seemed to criticize president obama's decision to send 30,000 more troops to afghanistan. >> it's time for us to bring our troops home as soon as we possibly can. i also think we learned that our troops shouldn't go off and it i to fight a war of independence for another nation. >> reporter: the governor's position evolved. by november he opposed any plan to bring most of the troops home before 2014. >> i stand with the commanders in this record and have no

information that suggest pulling our troops out faster than that would do anything but put at great peril the extraordinary sacrifice has been made. this is not time for america to cut and run. >> reporter: whoever sits in the oval office will decide how the u.s. hands over to the afghan. that's where we see the biggest difference. >> we're pursuing a negotiated peace in in cord nation with the afghan government, mied amanage has been in direct discussions with the taliban. >> reporter: while president obama makes a distinction between taliban and al qaeda, governor romney says he won't haggle with a group that has killed american troops. >> we don't negotiate with terrorists. i do not negotiate with the taliban. that's something for the afghans to decide how they will pursue their course in the future. >> reporter: there's negotiation versus no negotiation with the taliban president obama announced an end date years in advance. governor romney opposed publicizing that date. the president end the surge this

month during the fighting seas. . the governor would have kept additional troops there through december. analysts say neither man has spent much time talking about the war but mark jacobson says that's partly because the big strategic issues leak the surge and handover have been pretty much decided. >> what we're looking at now is execution of this strategy. that doesn't require the same sort of political capital and time from washington, d.c. that was required two years ago. >> the two men don't exactly agree on how the fighting affects the nation's finances. >> because after two wars that have cost us thousands of lives and over a trillion dollars, it's time to do some nation building right here at home. >> of course the return of our troops cannot and must not be used as an excuse to hollow out our military through devastating defense budget cuts. >> so the biggest difference on afghanistan --

may shall how to spend the money when the war is over. chris lawrence, cnn, washington. our thanks to chris. 44 minutes past the hour. new revelations about a sensational murder trial. amman do knox's boyfriend telling all in a brand new book. find out what he says, coming up. big splash with the employees. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha!

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welcome back to "early start." new revelations from the exboyfriend of amanda knox about the death of her roommate, mare death kircher. you'll recall that knox and raffaele sollecito were convicted and cleared of murder after four years in prison. now sollecito has written a book, titled "honor bound." in it he maintains their innocence but admits they gave italian police good reason to suspect them. cnn's matthew chance is live in london with all of the details here. and matthew, in the book,

sollecito says he was pressured by prosecutors to implicate knox. what can you tell bus that? >> sorry, zoraida, i don't hear you. can you rep that, please? >> yes. in the book, he says that he was told by prosecutors to implicate knox. what do you know about that? >> i'm sorry, i don't have any contact with the studio. >> let's see if we can fix that and we'll get back to him. >> in the meantime, 48 minutes after the hour. christine romans is here with all of the top stories. >> let's start with mitt romney. he's on the defensive this morning after the controversial comments at a private fund-raiser were revealed. romney is heard saying nearly half of all americans see themselves as victims and believe they're entighted to government support. clips were posted online by the liberal magazine "mother jones." romney says these remarks were off the cuff and not elegantly

stated. >> mitt romney's been briefed. the gop nominee receiving his first intelligence briefing yesterday. it's customary for the white house to provide briefings to presidential challengers in the late stages of an election campaign. a houston area firefighter has died from heat related injuries suffered during a survival skills class. neil smith was taking a smoke diver's course. it's designed for experienced firefighters and they're wearing full gear. the chief says his core body temperature reached 108 degrees during that survival skills class. leon panetta is in china, warning japan and china to peacefully resolve their territorial dispute over the senkaku islands in the east china sea. angry protests were triggered in china. watching that dispute carefully

and close. >> i a packed hour still ahead on "early start." we are a few minutes away from a french court's ruling on those topless photos of the duchess of cambridge. the war between the prince and the paparazzi is getting personal. we are living with following the royal couple in the south pacific. >> from flubbing the oath to flipping on health care, a new book with an insider account of the amazing relationship and ideological war between president obama and chief justice john roberts. our own jeffrey toobin wrote this book and he'll join us. plus, fallout from mitt romney's remarks about the 47%. what could be a critical campaign moment, one we could look back on. he standing by his comments and could that derail his campaign. later on "starting point" soledad o'brien speaks with bay buchanan. why you may be stuck with your old and suddenly uncool

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welcome back to "early start." new revelations from the exboyfriend of amanda knox about the death of her roommate, meredith kircher. cnn's matthew chance is live in london with all of the details. can you hear me now? >> i can. sorry, zoraida, about that. >> no, no, no, it's not your fault. i know we had a technical fault. in the book, sollecito says he was pressure by prosecutors to implicate knox. what can you tell us about this. >> this is the first

opportunity, really, raffaele sollecito has had to put over his side of the story since his release on appeal last year. so he's really taking full advantage of that. one of the big themes that comes out of this book, called "honor bound" is his disparaging criticism of the italian justice system. he does say at some point in the proceedings the prosecutors in that trial attempted him to do a plea bargain. they basically said if you implicate amanda knox in the killing of meredith kircher, this 21-year-old tune from the britain who was killed in the italian university town of perugia, you're get a lighter sentence. he basically refused to do that, of course, as we know. he all along throughout this trial and again in this book insisted that they were both innocent. he insisted again that he believed that amanda knox who was his girlfriend at the time was not capable of murder. he did, you know, reserve a lot of criticism for the italian

judicial system saying basically they took advantage of these two young people's youth and inexperience in the place of a proper investigation, zoraida. >> matthew, i have a question. is it true they had only been dating for a week when this happened? >> yes. it's absolutely true. just a week. amanda knox, a very attractive, enigmatic young girl at university. they met in the town of perugia and sollecito studied computer science and was very attracted to this quite strange foreigner. she's an american, of course. they had quite a passionate week together before these implications hit. it's interesting. in the book, he make the point that one of the reason he he was attracted to m mo-- amanda knoxs

because of her free and unusual behavior. he's the kind of behavior that he said distanced him from amanda knox. it brought the eye of suspicion on them both. >> matthew chance, live in london for us. thank you very much. 57 minutes after the hour right now. we'll take a look at what is trending on the internet this morning. up first, iphone insanity. apple is announcing that iphone 5 preorders topped 2 million in just 24 hours. that is more than double the amount of preorders it had for the iphone 4s. most phones will be delivered on friday, the company says, although some sad, poor people may have to wait two or three weeks because of demand. a shake-up on "the voice." headline by usher and shakira. they will be coaches for the upcoming spring edition of the series. they will replace cee lo green and christina aguilera.

>> in a sign of unhip i am, i know nothing about any of these people. >> oh, my goodness. i'll fill you in during the break. >> we've been talking a lot about the royal ruckus, the topless pictures of kate middleton. here's how it's playing with the late-night comedians. >> it's now reported there are 200 topless pictures of kate middleton. 200. what? how long they been together? i don't think prince william has seen her topless 200. how did that happen? whew! 200 naked pictures? i think she married the wrong brother. i think her and harry would have hit it off fantastic. oh, fantastic! >> i bet they miss the old days where they can have people randomly beheaded for doing things like this. royal family is upset. i hope this doesn't cost kate her job of smiling and waving at polo matches.

it's a tough thing. you have no privacy. pippa needs to step up with a good sex tape right now. that's what good sisters do, take the heat. that's what the kardashians do, right? >> all right. without comment. "early start" continues right now. well, you know, it's not elegantly stated, let me put it that way. i'm speaking off the cuff in response to a question -- >> mitt romney off message and on the defense after a hidden video of him is released. >> developing story we're watching this morning, a severe storm threat stretching from the carolinas all the way up to new england. >> and a royal scandal. now a criminal case. police investigating those topless pictures of kate middleton, and we are expecting a judge to rule any minute on that. good morning to you. welcome to "early start" i'm zoraida sambolin. >> i'm john berman. a lot of news overnight of a political nature.

what appears to be a major campaign moment. while you were sleeping, mitt romney was doing full-fledged damage control over controversial remarks that were secretly recorded at a private fund-raiser back in may. romney's heard telling wealthy donors that 47% of americans will support the president no matter what. it is not his job to worry about them. this tape has shaken the romney campaign, to say the least. cnn's andrew spencer has more. >> reporter: in one clip, mitt romney jokes about wishing his father's parents had been latino. >> had he been born of mexican parents, i'd have a better shot at winning this. but he was not. americans living in mexico for a number of years. and i say that jokingly, but it would be helpful to be latino. >> reporter: and he goes off on obama supporters. >> there are 47% who are with him who are dependent on government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has the responsibility to care for them.

>> reporter: the obama campaign issued a response, saying of a romney presidency, quote, it's hard to serve as president for all americans when you've disdainfully written off half the nation. in a news conference late monday night romney said he could have spoken more clearly but said he was trying to point out the differences between the two campaigns. >> we have a very different approach, the president and i, between a government dominated society, and a society driven by free people pursuing their dreams. this is really a discussion about the political process of winning the election. and, of course, i want to help all americans. all americans have a bright and prosperous future. and i'm convinced that the president's approach has not done that, and will not do that. >> reporter: i'm andrew spencer, reporting. >> i want to bring in cnn political director mark preston. he is in our washington bureau this morning. you just heard mitt romney trying to clean up the statement that is getting so much attention. he talked about this 47% of people who don't pay taxes. but the real controversy might be in how he describes these

people. let's listen. >> my job is not to worry about those people. i'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. >> i'll never convince them they need to take personal responsibility and care for their lives. problematic words from a republican candidate. correct? >> it is. and look, in the 24-hour news cycle this is devastating right now, john. this is going to be the topic of the day, certainly, when it comes to the presidential race. long-term, we don't know if this is going to be a fatal blow. if this is going to be something that will carry all the way to election day. 49 days until election day. a lot can happen. but right now, as they're heading into the home stretch, this is not what the romney campaign wants to be focusing on, john. >> mitt romney in this statement also said it's not his job to worry about these people. and that language sounds very familiar to people here at cnn, because of something mitt romney said to soledad o'brien on "starting point" back in february. let's listen to that. >> i'm not concerned about the

very poor. we have a safety net there. if it needs repair i'll fix it. i said i'm not concerned about the very poor, it has a safety net but if it has holes in it, i will repair them. you can focus on the very poor. that's not my focus. my focus is on middle-income americans. >> yet it's not the statistic that may be the problem here, it's the language. >> it's the language. what we're hearing from mitt romney is him talking like a businessman. in some ways one of his major flaws as a candidate is that he is a ceo. he's not a politician. he is not touchy-feely. he's very methodical in some ways, sterile when he's talking about fixing the problems and that's exactly what i think we're hearing right now. you know, john, the fact is he was talking about how politics worked, and when he was speaking to that fund-raiser he was talking in very political terms but you're absolutely right. the language that he used to talk about, he didn't care about the other 47% is devastating. >> the ceo thing is something that a lot of republicans think is a strength for mitt romney but the problem lies in the fact that voters say, just 37% of voters say that he connects and

understands the problems in the middle class. nevertheless, we did hear a lot of republicans jumping to mitt romney's defense overnight. >> we did. and of course, we should expect this to happen. they are very frustrated by the campaign and how things are operating right now. but we did hear from the republican national committee chairman reince priebus just last night on cnn. >> listen, joe, i don't have the numbers in front of me. but clearly what we do have, very clearly, is a government and a society here in this country that is becoming dependent. this is something advertised by barack obama himself, on his own website, when they came out with this life of julia push over the summer. it is a choice election between what type of country you want to have, and i can guarantee you that the american dream was not built upon the life of julia society advertised by barack obama. >> reince priebus, republican national committee chairman last

night on "the situation room" really trying to frame the election between the four years of barack obama's term in office, to what mitt romney is offering. the american people. >> and we do understand that there may be more excerpts of this video being released right now over the next hour. we are glad you are watching them. you'll come back to us if there is anything big. mark preston, great to see you. at the bottom of the hour we're going to talk to some cnn contributors, margaret hooper and richard socarides who is a former adviser to president clinton. they will be discussing and dissecting these potentially damaging remarks for mitt romney. >> it is six minutes past the hour. a quick check of what else is going on around the world. at least nine people have been killed in a predawn car bombing in afghanistan. the deadly attack taking place near the kabul airport. the spokesman for an afghan insurgent group with ties to the taliban is taking responsibility there. and says it is in response to an anti-islam film that has angered muslims around the world. the car bomber reportedly rammed a small sedan into a mini bus

believed to be carrying foreign aviation workers to the airport. in chicago, 350,000 kids will get yet another day off from school as striking teachers continue to look at a deal that's on the table to end their walkout. meanwhile, parents are still scrambling to juggle work and keep their kids out of trouble for a seventh day in a row. mayor rahm emanuel has gone to court to try to force the teachers to go back to work but a judge will not look at that until tomorrow. >> listen to this, right now in mexico, more than 130 inmates are on the run. police are blocking roads leading to the united states, after a major prison break there. they're offering a 15,000 reward for the fugitives who escaped from a prison about 150 miles from san antonio. police say they were able to burrow through a tunnel to the other side, and then they cut through a fence. >> wow. some news a lot of us in the northeast are watching this morning. a storm threat from the south along the entire east coast this morning. heavy downpours forecast atlanta, nashville, all the way up here to new york city.

possible tornadoes, we want to get right to meteorologist rob marciano who is watching all of this for us this morning. >> good morning again. this system caused problems yesterday across parts of the south and east in the way of heavy rain and rough weather and that's going to happen again today as it pushes slowly off towards the east. some of these storms already rolling off the gulf of mexico have some pop to them, especially across the florida panhandle and south florida. they'll congeal. pittsburgh back through charleston, roanoke getting some rainfall. this is for the most part nonthunderstorm type of stuff. but later on this afternoon things will begin to change. gentle rains just to the rest of paramus up through trenton and newark a little rainfall as well. later on today, not only heavier rain at times but some of this rainfall with the thunderstorms will create some flash flooding in some spots. more importantly i think as this cold front comes through, gets some of this tropical moisture out of here it's got some energy in the jet stream. those winds will maybe create some damage as they come down

through some of the thunderstorms. boston, new york, down to d.c., raleigh under the gun for a slight chance of seeing severe weather. maybe even an isolated tornado. once the front comes through, some gorgeous but chilly stuff. it will feel like fall by midweek. guys back up to you. >> looking forward to that. thanks very much. >> eight minutes past the hour. new developments this morning in the topless photo scandal surrounding kate middleton. and more legal developments are expected any minute now. we're going to go live to the solomon islands where the prince and the duchess have already heard some good news. [ female announcer ] born from the naturally sweet monk fruit, something this delicious could only come from nature. now from the maker of splenda sweeteners, discover nectresse. the only 100% natural, no-calorie sweetener made from the goodness of fruit. the rich, sweet taste of sugar. nothing artificial. ♪ it's all that sweet ever needs to be. new nectresse. sweetness naturally.

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the headlines. >> good morning. this is not what the romney campaign wants to be talking about this morning. a hidden camera video that's captured romney's blunt comments to wealthy donors at a fund-raiser back in may. on this tape romney describes nearly half of all americans as, quote, victims, who will vote for president obama, and it's not his job to worry about them. romney tried to clarify the remarks later saying they were off the cuff and not elegantly stated. he says he wants to help all americans. u.s. troops ordered to halt joint field operations with afghan security forces. the decision coming after four american troops were killed by afghan police. there have been a series of these insider attacks on nato forces by afghan police, and by insurgents disguised as security officers. 51 western troops have died in those attacks so far this year. nearly 200 people were arrested during protests in new york city to mark the one-year anniversary of occupy wall street. most of these arrests were for disorderly conduct. hundreds of protesters gathered at new york's park where the

global movement was born for a march on wall street. the demonstration failed to keep operating. french prosecutors have just announced they're opening a preliminary criminal investigation into the publication of topless photos of the duchess of cambridge, kate middleton. and we're expecting a french court to rule at any moment now on a decision to stop further publication or the resale of any of those pictures. max foster is traveling with the duke and duchess as they celebrate the queen's diamond jubilee and he joins us live from the solomon islands. max, what can you tell us about this criminal investigation? and is there a reaction from the duke and duchess? >> well, the duke and duchess had an idyllic evening on an island out here in the solomons, and they had dinner and they went snorkeling. they're trying to get away from all of this right now. and they actually have flown off and arrived at a spectacular ceremony sitting on thrones

carried by warriors from the plane. we'll bring some video of that a little later on. they're continuing with this tour and putting a brave face on everything. but in terms of the prosecution, they are being fully briefed. they're fully involved. because they're spearheading this, really. and the criminal prosecution could ultimately mean, if it's turned into a full investigation, that the editor could go to jail. they also could mean sanctions for the photographer. although i have to say, they don't know who the photographer is. only the magazine does. and convincing the magazine to reveal that information will be a different matter. certainly, first round to the duchess. because they've opened this investigation in a criminal investigation, hugely serious thing. as you say we'll be hearing about the civil proceedings, as well, today. many legal experts in france saying it will be granted. but there will be an injunction. they'll have to hand over the digital originals of these pictures and they won't be able to resell them, republish them, have to withdraw them from the internet, as well. >> max, those photos were reprinted in ireland, and there

were some consequences there. can you tell us about that? >> well, yeah the editor was actually suspended. the owners or one of the owners of the newspaper in ireland was very clear, he's an englishman and he said this was completely not in the public interest. it wasn't in his interest. he's very angry about it. suggested that, actually, the joint venture that controls this newspaper should be closed down. the editor has been suspended. the board of the newspaper are now meeting to discuss whether or not to close the newspaper down. at the same time a minister is suggesting that he's going to bring back laws, privacy laws, in ireland. all because of this. it's having a huge impact. >> it certainly is. max foster live for us. thank you very much. shut down the newspaper? unbelievable. 16 minutes past the hour. when you're looking for a cheap flight your first instinct may be to check out sites like orbitz or expedia.

but you won't always find the best deal. >> christine romans is here to tell us why in today's "road warriors." >> believe it or not you may find the best fares and seats by booking directly on an airline's website. frontier for example. last week the airline announced changes that essentially steer customers away from third party flights. if you don't purchase tickets at flyfrontier.com you won't get a seat assignment until check-in. you'll only earn half of your frequent flyer miles and pay higher fees if you need to change your reservation. it's not the only company trying to cut out the middle man jetblue, spirit and virgin america drive customers to their websites by discount codes and e-mails. southwest goes a step further not listing fares on any third party websites. what does this boil down to? it's getting harder and more time consuming to shop for fares. you have to be very smart about it. you might have to look at several websites rather than one that does the comparison shopping for all of them. >> i always go to mine first if i know i have a lot of miles on

american i try that because i want to get the miles, put me over the edge to get a free ticket. >> i'm always looking for the cheapest flight. >> i look around. >> thank you very much. coming up, mitt romney talking about the 47% who will vote for president obama. people, he says, rely on government handouts. we'll fact check governor romney's math coming up. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro.

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21 minutes past the hour. we are minding your business this morning. christine romans has been checking some of the stats in mitt romney's comments at a private fund-raiser that were leaked last night. >> how many people, what are the numbers here about how many people are dependent on the government. >> well, there's no question that since the recession, and even since maybe 1980, more and more people have been beneficiaries of government programs. no question about that. but that's not the debate that mitt romney was having in this tape that we heard. he was talking about people thinking they are entitled, or they deserve, free things from the government. i want you to listen to his own words. >> all right. there are 47% who are with him who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has the responsibility to care for them. who believe that they're entitled to health care, to food, to housing. >> let me just break down for you exactly these numbers. he's talking about the 46%, he said 47, but the 46.4% who do not pay federal income tax.

53.6% of americans pay income tax. if you include payroll taxes, however, the number of nonpayer households or the percentage of nonpower households drops to about 18%. so who is not paying federal income taxes? they are elderly. they are very, very poor people. they are a lot of people who are paying a payroll tax but they're not paying income tax because they are getting child tax credit, they're getting all these other kinds of deductions. the tax code is very complicated and it is made to give people deductions and incentives for certain social policies in this country. congress does that, not presidents. let me show you about the americans living in households receiving federal aid. 26% of households receive medicaid. 15% of households receive food stamps. wic, women, infants and children, 8% of households. and housing assistance, 4% of households. and then temporary assistance, these are usually cash payments to very, very, very poor families, 2%. we also know that there are

households through stimulus and through other state and federal programs are getting their heating oil paid for, for example. that's for elderly and very, very poor. there's been an expansion of all these programs because of the great recession. but again, the conversation that mitt romney is having on these tapes is not about the expansion, and the temporary nature of some of these programs and trying to rein them in. it's about people being dependent on them. people who do not have personal responsibility and want the government to take care of them. that's the conversation he was having. >> leaving mitt romney aside for the moment. what's the one thing we need to know about our money today? >> if you have a 401(k), stock futures are down this morning. but we're all watching apple stock today. apple is above $700 in premarket. >> $700? >> i know. i know. stocks. i've been telling you, stocks are so close to the comeback the last couple of days. the stocks are near the highest levels since the end of 2007. >> christine romans. >> there you go. >> all right 24 minutes past the hour. coming up a mystery at sea.

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riveted the entire world. amanda knox and her italian ex-boyfriend convicted, then set free. now the man with amanda that night is telling all. he has written a book. we have a bit of a preview for you. welcome back to "early start." we're glad you're with us. i'm zoraida sambolin. >> and i'm john berman. about 28 minutes after the hour right now. this morning we are getting a rare glimpse of what mitt romney says behind closed doors with his donors. the candidate caught on tape at a fund-raiser with revealing description of obama voters. the left wing magazine or website mother jones got a hold of the tape. >> there are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. all right, there are 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they're entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. that that's an entitlement. and the government should give it to them. and they will vote for this president no matter what.

these are the people who pay no income tax. >> the obama team pounced on those comments and romney responded at a late-night news conference. take a listen. >> among those that pay no tax, approximately 47% of americans, i'm not likely to be highly successful with a message of lowering taxes. that's not as attractive to those who don't pay income taxes as it is to those who do. and likewise, those who are reliant on government are not as attracted to my message of slimming down the size of government. >> if you're watching in high deaf you can see mitt romney's hair literally and metaphorically out of place there. which i thought was interesting. we're talking with margaret hoofer, a former white house appointee in the bush administration. and richard socarides a special adviser in the clinton white house. richard, let's start with you. democrats were all over this statement, early and often last night. >> i mean, i don't think democrats had much to say at all. i mean, there wasn't much left to say. look, i mean, i think that, you know, big picture, this is a --

was a devastating moment for governor romney, potentially fatal, as people start to focus on this campaign. >> devastating, fatal? >> i don't think so. you can understand while he tripped over his words, it probably wasn't characterized the best way. i think we can all agree with that. you can understand what he was trying to say. do we have a systemic problem in this country when you have almost 50% of people not paying any federal income taxes? and he's running on a platform that would fundamentally change the tax code so that you lower the base, broaden the base and lower tax rates across the board. he didn't say it artfully. nobody should -- >> some of those people who are not paying taxes are rich people, number one. and number two, people who -- >> 38% of the tax -- 1% of the people. >> when you include payroll taxes that number goes down to 13%. since when are payroll taxes not taxes? >> well, as you and i both know, 38% of the taxes in this country are paid by the top 1% of taxpayers. there is a structural deficiency in terms of who is paying taxes

and who's not. that's the conversation we should be having. i don't think mitt romney meant to write off 47%. >> what he said is i will never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. >> right. the other thing richard and i talked about offstage is that these candidates have grueling, grueling schedules. when they begin to think that they're in an off-camera situation, they're amongst friends, sometimes they say things that are not -- >> sometimes they say things they really mean. >> -- campaign trail, right? and they get a little bit sloppy. i don't think this is a reveal of mitt romney's character. we know he's a caring person. we have plenty of examples that demonstrate he has cared deeply for people who are far less means in his own life, we saw many examples of that at the convention. >> but we do have a lot of examples, also of things that are confusing. so let's listen to another moment last night when he talked about being mexican. >> my dad, as you probably know, was the governor of michigan, and was the head of a car

company. but he was born in mexico. and had he been born of mexican parents, i'd have a better shot at winning this. i say that jokingly, but it would be helpful to be latino. >> i mean i say that jokingly. i mean if he had been born of mexican parents and spoke a little bit of spanish maybe he'd be able to go to latino communities and make his case in spanish. he does have a compelling case to make -- >> do you think that that could be offensive at all to latinos? >> i think it is not helpful at all, i agree zoraida. however i do think he has a really important message for hispanic people. have 2 million more people in poverty. more people have been deported under this president than any other president in american history. i think there is a compelling he has to make to latinos, regardless of whether his dad was born in mexico or not. >> i don't know what's funny about it. it doesn't seem funny to me, in the least bit. i think it's really offensive, and i think he owes americans an apology this morning.

because, what he's doing is, you know, here's a very rich guy, who's worth several hundred million dollars, suggesting that, you know, if you're a person of color in this country, that somehow you have an unfair advantage against him. >> and it would be easier. that's what struck me there. it would actually be easier. and i thought, well there's a disconnect because it would actually probably be harder. >> right. this is a guy who's nothing has been hard for him. except maybe being elected president. i think he's going to have a very hard time being elected president. >> richard socarides working the clinton administration as you can tell by some of your comments. margaret hoover a bush appointee. thank you so much for being with us. at 7:00 eastern on "starting point," soledad o'brien will talk about romney's remarks and his attempt to reboot his campaign when she is joined by the candidate's senior campaign adviser bay buchanan. >> the coast guard is searching off the coast of florida this morning after a 21-year-old woman went overboard during a cruise headed for the bahamas. royal caribbean says another passenger saw it happen. the captain immediately saw the

ship and turned around to search for her. two other nearby cruise ships joined the search before coast guard crews took over. and this just in, a french court handing down a decision on those topless photos of the duchess of cambridge, kate middleton. the court finding the french magazine "closer" ordering it not to distribute its magazine in print or online. earlier this morning, french prosecutors announced that they're opening a preliminary criminal investigation to determine whether "closer" magazine breached the privacy of the royal couple by publishing those topless photos. will and kate have gone on record saying they want the photographer who took the photos criminally charged as well. >> all right, also new revelations about a sensational murder trial. amanda knox, her boyfriend, telling all in a new book. find out what he says coming up] [ bird chirps ] [ bird squawks ] ♪

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welcome back to "early start." 38 minutes after the hour. i'm john berman. >> i'm zoraida sambolin. amanda knox's ex-boyfriend, who was convicted an then acquitted of murder alongside her, maintains their innocence in a new book that is out today. but he also acknowledges that the couple's bizarre behavior and lack of a real alibi gave police to be suspicious of them. the book is "honor bound: my journey to hell and back with amanda knox" by raffaele sollecito. joining me now is criminal defense attorney anne bremer. she served as a spokesperson for friends of amanda, a seattle-based group of knox's family friends. thanks for being with us this morning. i really appreciate your time. so you met -- >> thank you.

>> our pleasure. you met raffaele sollecito in seattle after the convictions were overturned. what was your impression of him? >> he was lovely. he was humble. he was grateful. and he was really shy. i guess having worked on this case for so long just remotely, of course, from seattle, it was really interesting to meet the real person, and what surprised me about him, really, was just how shy and humble he was. but he was very grateful, and very happy to see everyone in seattle, and a very nice young man. very impressive. >> he admits that the couple's behavior in the days after meredith kercher's body was found was in his words odd. that they were photographed kissing outside of the crime scene, shopping for underwear for knox. how do you explain or how does he explain that behavior? >> it really was -- it was odd to the italians. i think it's really a culture difference.

amanda went shopping for underwear because her house was a crime scene that was closed. they went out for dinner and had a pizza simply because they didn't have any place to eat. but these things were considered to be odd and they're actually considered to be probable cause, in italy, to believe that amanda and raff were involved in this crime. >> so during the trial knox and sollecito presented a united front, we all know. here's what he says he was thinking during his first days on trial. my poor memory seemed a ridiculous reason to throw me into an isolation cell and accuse me of involvement in the crime. if the problem was with amanda, and the things that she might or might not have done outside the house, assuming she left at all, why not focus the investigation on her? maybe she knew something. maybe there was something she hadn't told me. but please, i thought, leave me out of it. what's your reaction to that? >> i guess it's human nature. you know, we've always been here for amanda. but we also support raff. for him to say that there wasn't an alibi for her or that he

wanted every man or every woman for themselves. he didn't stick with that. although that part of the book is something that would give us pause. because the fact of the matter is they had an alibi together. they were at his house together. actually had seen a movie together, and that was something that they testified about and that was part of their defense in italy. but i guess in the beginning he may have thought, and his family also said, distance yourself from amanda knox, go your own way. ultimately, he didn't. >> in the book he's also critical of the police investigation. i want to put this up. neither amanda knox or i had anything to do with the crime but we came perilously close to spending the rest of our lives in prison because the authorities found it easier and more convenient to take advantage of our youth and inexperience than to mount a proper investigation. do you agree with his characterization of the italian police? >> yeah, we called it blaming forensics. something that we said in our group from the beginning was the forensics were flawed. that the gathering of evidence was tainted. i mean, everything else, and at the end of the day, in the appeal, the experts said that

and the judge said that and they came home. but it took years. amanda knox was in prison for four years, as was raffaele. and it was amazing that we always said in justice everywhere, but especially in this case because they were young, they were naive. they went like lambs to slaughter. they talked to the police, they cooperated and ended up in prison for four years. but of course were ultimately exonerated. >> we're running out of time. do they still have a relationship today? >> no. but he's coming back out here now, i know, with his book and everything else. and they've been in contact. that type of a relationship, yes. but a love story relationship, no. after all of these years and all of the hell that they've been through, i think it would be hard to maintain. and they only knew each other in the beginning for a matter of weeks before they ended up in this horrible mess together. >> all right. criminal defense attorney, former prosecutor, thank you for your time this morning. >> really interesting interview. it's 43 minutes after the hour right now. we want to get you up to speed on all the top stories this morning. mitt romney on the defense after

those controversial statements at a private fund-raiser were revealed. romney is heard saying nearly half of all americans see themselves as victims and believe they're entitled to government support. he was secretly recorded back in may, and clips were posted on the liberal magazine mother jones. romney now says the remarks were off the cuff, and not elegantly stated. in chicago, 350,000 kids will get yet another day off from school as striking teachers continue to look at a deal that's on the table to end their walkout. meanwhile, parents still scrambling to juggle work and keep their kids out of trouble for the seventh day in a row. mayor rahm emanuel has gone to court to try to force the teachers to go back to work. the judge won't look at that until tomorrow. peyton manning continuing his comeback on monday night football. but it was not his night. manning threw three interceptions in the first quarter putting the broncos in a 20-0 hole early. a late rally came up short and the atlanta falcons beat denver 27-21 in the final. >> so a tough night for peyton manning. a tough night for mitt romney.

soledad o'brien here to tell us what you're talking about on "starting point." >> on that tough night we're going to be talking about mitt romney is not backing down from those controversial comments. he called president obama supporters, those people. 47% of the nation, said they're government moochers basically, said they feel entitled to health care and housing. question today is he out of touch and to what degree does that affect his campaign? this morning we're going to talk to his senior adviser bay buchanan as well as obama's campaign co-chair the former governor ted strickland will be our guest. also we're following the very latest on the royal photo scandal. a judge ruled that the french magazine that published the topless photos of the duchess of cambridge will have to pay a fine. we're going to bring you a live report from the solomon islands this morning where the royal couple is traveling. and he's known for his share of trouble. but also for his acting skills. rapper t.i. taking his life lessons, putting them into his second novel. his goal is to increase literacy in young people. we're going to talk to him about his new book, it's a great read.

we're going to talk to him about his show on vh1. we're going to talk to him about his role on "boss." >> when do you find time to wrap? >> that's t.i. coming up a little bit later this morning. >> looking forward to that. coming up the dueling views of two of the most powerful men in our government, president obama and chief justice roberts. we go inside the supreme court with our jeffrey toobin. smart c, a crash management system and the world's only tridion safety cell which can withstand over three and a half tons. small in size. big on safety. not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. you know, working, working, working,

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it is one of the most important issues of the upcoming election and we rarely talk about it. but with the current supreme court, one of the oldest on record, the next president could have the chance to shape the court for generations. and in his brand-new book "the oath, the obama white house and

the supreme court" jeffrey toobin takes a look at what he calls the current competing positions of president obama and the chief justice of the united states john roberts. he concludes one believes in change and the other believes in stability. you may be surprised which man is which in this case. jeffrey i want to start off with what i think is one of the most fascinating episodes in american history. and i don't think i'm overselling it here. it was the swearing-in, president obama's inauguration, justice john roberts swearing him in, giving him the oath of office, and it was flubbed. let's just look at it again to refresh our memory here. >> i, barack hussein obama. do solemnly swear. >> i barack hussein some ba do solemnly swear. >> it was downhill from there. >> you have details i've never read before about how this went down. >> this is the crazy thing about journalism. we follow these events when they happen, and then they sort of, you know, the passing parade leaves them. but i wanted to go back, why was it messed up that way?

and there's actually a fairly simple answer. john roberts, a lot of people at the time, accused him of not preparing. quite the opposite. he was preparing so obsessively that his wife said to him, you know, at this point the dog thinks he's president. now, what he did was he prepared a version of the oath marking off where the breaks would be. and his assistant e-mailed that to the secretary at the congressional inaugural committee. that secretary never opened the attachment. and never forwarded it to obama's office. so what you saw there was that obama interrupted roberts after i barack hussein obama. he didn't realize roberts wanted to do i solemnly swear in the first stanza. that flustered roberts. >> amazing to see such a brilliant man flustered on the national television. >> again, people's best qualities wind up being their achilles heel. roberts has been amazing memory.

when roberts used to argue before the supreme court, he didn't bring one piece of paper up to the podium with him. because he had it all in his head. yet in this most public moment, his mumry failed him. >> of course the title of your book is "the oath" showing the significance of this moment. really what set off a very complicated relationship between these two. >> it is. and they have so much in common. they're born within six years of each other. both came of age in the chicago area. both products of harvard law school. the harvard law review. but they have fundamentally different views of the constitution, and we're seeing that play out, almost all the time. >> as complicated as it was and for whatever differences they have had over the years, it was ultimately the chief justice john roberts who saved the signature legislation of the obama administration. >> and i would love to say that i predicted it all along. but as cnn viewers may recall, i was quite wrong in my prediction about that case. john roberts saw citizens -- saw the health care case really as

the third in a trilogy. bush v. gore. citizens united. health care. and in each of those it looked like five republican justices were going to take on a democratic president or initiative. and he said, i cannot put the court at the center of that sort of political controversy. i want to try to remove the court from that to the extent i could. so he broke with his conservative colleagues, went with obama. but don't think he's discovered his inner moderate. he is going to remain a conservative. >> jeffrey toobin. either this relationship has about three months left or four more fascinating years. the book "the oath." it is a fascinating read. thank you so much for being here. coming up, best advice from actor john leguizamo. you know what's complicated? shipping. shipping's complicated. not really. with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service shipping's easy. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate.

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it is just a few minutes before the hour right now. as always we wrap it up with "best advice." >> today we hear from actor and comedian john leguizamo. >> the best advice i ever received was when i started out my career -- if you can't do certain things, just do it all. go behind the cameras. go serve. we're here to serve so just say yes to everything. >> that's cool. say yes to everything. we were just talking about how overscheduled we are. say yes to everything. i was starting to say no to some

things. he says say yes to everything. >> i don't know. we want opportunities, right? >> i'm learning how to say no to some things so i can get a little more management in my life. >> i'm with you. >> test it out. see what's out there and then learn what you like. >> first advice of parents who say yes to everything. a lot of people say if you get a fork in the road, take it. but that's cool, i like it. >> all right. that is all for "early start" this morning. i'm john berman. >> and i'm zoraida sop sambolin. "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. morning. welcome everybody. our starting point this morning is those people. yep, i'm quoting gop presidential candidate mitt romney. he's defending now those comments that president obama supporters are dependent on the government. they think they're entitled. also some new comments that have just been released, where the former governor trashes a two-state solution for israel,

calls mideast peace almost unthinkable. this morning we're going to talk to a romney campaign senior adviser about that controversy. a french magazine is going to have to pay up for publishing topless photos of kate middleton. the brand-new ruling has been handed down by a judge. we'll have a look at the fallout. plus it was a murder trial that shocked the world. a young american, her italian boyfriend convicted of killing her roommate. then they were acquitted. now that ex-boyfriend has a new book. talking about what happened that night. it's tuesday, september 18th, and "starting point" begins right now. morning, welcome everybody, our starting point this morning is mitt romney's hidden camera controversy. new tapes have just come out. we're going through them. in one of them a donor asks mitt romney about the palestinian problem. and here's how he responded. i'm torn by two perspectives in this regard. one is the one which i've had for some time is that the palestinians have no interest wh